### What?
Adds build-time validation to require explicit `default.js` files for
all parallel route slots (except the implicit "children" slot). This
validation is implemented in both Webpack and Turbopack bundlers.
### Why?
Parallel routes without `default.js` files currently cause silent 404
errors when users navigate to those routes. This creates confusion and
hard-to-debug issues because the routes appear to be configured
correctly but fail at runtime without any indication of what went wrong.
By making this validation explicit at build time, developers get
immediate feedback about missing required files with clear error
messages and documentation links, catching configuration mistakes before
deployment.
### How?
**Rust/Turbopack** (`crates/next-core/src/app_structure.rs`): Added
`MissingDefaultParallelRouteIssue` that emits a build error when a
parallel route slot is missing its `default.js` file. The validation is
skipped for the "children" slot since it's implicit and doesn't require
a default file.
**Webpack**
(`packages/next/src/build/webpack/loaders/next-app-loader/index.ts`):
Added validation that throws `MissingDefaultParallelRouteError` when
`default.js` cannot be resolved. The "children" slot falls back to the
existing `PARALLEL_ROUTE_DEFAULT_PATH` behavior for backward
compatibility.
**Error Class**
(`packages/next/src/shared/lib/errors/missing-default-parallel-route-error.ts`):
New error type with helpful messaging that includes the slot path,
explanation of the requirement, and a link to documentation.
**Migration Path**: Users who want the previous 404 behavior can
explicitly create a `default.js` that calls `notFound()`, or return
`null` for empty slots:
```tsx
import { notFound } from 'next/navigation'
export default function Default() {
notFound()
}
```
Users can also run the following Deno script to generate the default
files for them:
https://gist.github.com/wyattjoh/ba7263ecb637ef399d3e3e4db63ffbd6
**Breaking Change**: This is a breaking change timed for Next.js 16
beta. Builds will now fail if parallel route slots are missing required
`default.js` files.
## What?
Rename `experimental.dynamicIO` to `experimental.cacheComponents` across
the Next.js codebase.
## Why?
We're going to be merging the functionality of the `ppr`, `dynamicIO`
and `useCache` experimental flags into the singular `cacheComponents`
flag to reduce complexity of the codebase and simplify adoption for
users wanting to experiment with experimental features.
## How?
- Renamed the configuration option from `experimental.dynamicIO` to
`experimental.cacheComponents`
- Added deprecation handling with automatic migration for the old option
name
- Updated all documentation, tests, and internal references
- Updated Rust code in SWC transforms and Turbopack
- Maintained backward compatibility with deprecation warnings
NAR-158
Wyatt Johnson